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Third House Rising

Singer-songwriter reveals Jewish soul.

Marcy J. Levinson

Jewish Renaissance Media

A

fter 20 years as a songwriter
and producer, Grammy-nomi-
nated BMI
Songwriter of the Year
Lawrence Dermer is tak-
ing the world of Jewish
music by storm.
His new, solo CD, Third
House Rising features
Dermer on lead vocals
— a contrast to his past
endeavors writing for
Gloria Estefan, Jennifer
Lopez, Madonna and
Cher, to name a few —
and includes the songwriting
talents of his wife, Robin.
The Dermers collaborated on secular
music for years, but Third House Rising
is a heartfelt, upbeat step into contempo-
rary Jewish music.
In addition to writing all of the songs
together, the Dermers showcase the tal-
ents of sons Jaxson and Harrison, who
play guitar, mandolin and drums.
The Dermers said their 7-year-old
daughter, Aliyah, born with some physical
and neurological problems, inspired their
first Jewish music project.
That inspiration shines throu
"Neshama" is an incredible song with
Jewish soul and an Israeli fusion influ-

ence. After one listen, the chorus stays in
your head; the song is a good way to start
any day. "Destiny" is heavily influenced
not just by Israeli but also by Latin and
klezmer music, interpreting the klezmer
sound in a free-flowing
manner that lends cred-
ibility to the lyrics. "The
Maker" is a ballad that
takes you on a spiritual
journey. It's as if Lawrence
Dermer is saying that he
chose to go at life alone,
assuming the outcome
would be of his making,
but the chorus makes
clear the ultimate answers
are not within the power
of a single person.
The most touching song
on the CD is "Souls Live On',' a Holocaust
memorial that is relevant for any indi-
vidual or group that has faced the threat
of extermination. The song follows a
survivor from the point he leaves his wife
and daughter at the gates of a camp, with
ashes and snow floating in the air, to the
point when he remembers his loss but
has the strength to never give up and
never forget. ❑

REV IEW

Musical Quotes
Oscar-winning
screenwriter Ronald
Harwood (The
Pianist) recently
spoke to a reporter
about his new play,
Collaboration, now
Ronald
being staged in
Harwood
England. It's about
the relationship
between German composer Richard
Strauss and German-Jewish writer
Stefan Zweig, who wrote an opera
together in the early 1930s. Strauss
went to write what has been called
"cheap swastika music" for the Nazi
regime.
Harwood said: "Yes. The Nazis had
a mystical connection with music.
And yet Mendelssohn was banned.
The Magic Flute had to have another
libretto because [lyricist] da Ponte
was Jewish – it was all utterly insane.

Marcy Levinson is a staff writer at our sister
paper, the Atlanta Jewish Times.

The Germans were, I think, deeply
cultured but totally uncivilized. For
the British, I think, it was the other
way round. Totalitarian governments
always have to control the arts
because they know their power."
On Aug. 5, there was a New York
showing of the
concert film Lou

Reed's Berlin.
Famous rocker Lou
Reed was there, and
the film's director,
Julian Schnabel,
got on the stage
Lou Reed
and announced that
Reed's mother was
in the audience. He called out to her
(referring to her son): "You got a nice
Yiddishe kup there. You should be
proud." ❑

Contact Nate Bloom at
middleoftheroadl@aol.com.

6646 Telegraph Rd.

at Maple
BLOOMFIELD
PLAZA

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